Can genetics help us tailor blood pressure treatment?

Clinical Study of UMOD NKCC2 interaction on salt-sensitivity in hypertension

Professor Sandosh Padmanabhan and colleagues at the University of Glasgow are studying new ways to treat people with uncontrolled hypertension, or high blood pressure. Nearly half of those treated with current blood pressure lowering drugs have uncontrolled hypertension, and are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Scientists have recently found that a single genetic change in the region of DNA near a gene called uromodulin increases the amount of uromodulin protein in the urine. Present in around two thirds of the population, this genetic variant affects how the body handles salt, and how blood pressure responds to a class of drugs called loop diuretics. Loop diuretics are not commonly used to manage hypertension, but could treat people who don’t respond well to current drugs. In this project, Professor Padmanabhan and his team will carry out a study to find out if people with uncontrolled hypertension who have the genetic variant respond better to loop diuretics than those without the variant. The study will reveal if these drugs could help doctors manage hypertension in ‘responders’. If successful, this study will be the first to show that a genetic marker can identify groups of people with high blood pressure who should receive a loop diuretic drug. It could help doctors control hypertension in their patients better and more quickly.